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The Last Tycoon (1976) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   2,699 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Elia Kazan
Writers:
F. Scott Fitzgerald (novel)
Harold Pinter (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Last Tycoon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 November 1976 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
He has the power to make anyone's dream come true... except his own.
Plot:
F.Scott Fitzgerald's novel is brought to life in this story of a movie producer slowly working himself to death. | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win more
NewsDesk:
Writer Harold Pinter Dead At 78
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 26 December 2008, 1:33 AM, PST)

User Comments:
One of the Most Overlooked Films in History For Good and For Bad... more (33 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Robert De Niro ... Monroe Stahr

Tony Curtis ... Rodriguez

Robert Mitchum ... Pat Brady
Jeanne Moreau ... Didi

Jack Nicholson ... Brimmer

Donald Pleasence ... Boxley

Ray Milland ... Fleishacker

Dana Andrews ... Red Ridingwood
Ingrid Boulting ... Kathleen Moore

Peter Strauss ... Wylie

Theresa Russell ... Cecilia Brady

Tige Andrews ... Popolos
Morgan Farley ... Marcus
John Carradine ... Tour guide
Jeff Corey ... Doctor
Diane Shalet ... Stahr's secretary

Seymour Cassel ... Seal trainer

Anjelica Huston ... Edna (as Angelica Huston)
Bonnie Bartlett ... Brady's secretary
Sharon Masters ... Brady's secretary
Eric Christmas ... Norman
Leslie Curtis ... Mrs. Rodriguez
Lloyd Kino ... Butler
Brendan Burns ... Assistant editor
Carrie Miller ... Ladly in restaurant
Peggy Feury ... Hairdresser
Betsy Jones-Moreland ... Lady writer
Patricia Singer ... Girl on beach
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Pamela Guest ... Stahr's secretary (as Pamela Seamon)
Don Brodie ... Extra on Set (uncredited)

Nicholas Cairis ... Man at front table (uncredited)
Jester Hairston ... Waiter in Stahr's office (uncredited)
Byron Morrow ... Studio executive (uncredited)
Montana Smoyer ... Disgruntled lady on elevator talking to husband (uncredited)

H.M. Wynant ... Man at daillies (uncredited)
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Directed by
Elia Kazan 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
F. Scott Fitzgerald  novel
Harold Pinter  writer

Produced by
Sam Spiegel .... producer
 
Original Music by
Maurice Jarre 
 
Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper 
 
Film Editing by
Richard Marks 
 
Production Design by
Gene Callahan 
 
Art Direction by
Jack T. Collis 
 
Set Decoration by
Jerry Wunderlich 
 
Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone 
Anthea Sylbert 
 
Makeup Department
Gary Liddiard .... makeup artist
Jean Burt Reilly .... hair stylist
 
Production Management
Lloyd Anderson .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary Daigler .... second assistant director
Daniel McCauley .... first assistant director (as Danny McCauley)
Ron Wright .... second assistant director
 
Sound Department
Larry Jost .... sound mixer
Barbara Fallick Marks .... sound editor (as Barbara Marks)
Ronald Poore .... sound editor
Robert M. Reitano .... sound editor (as Robert Reitano)
Winston Ryder .... sound editor
Dick Vorisek .... sound re-recording mixer
 
Special Effects by
Henry Millar .... special effects
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Rose .... key grip
 
Music Department
Joseph Glassman .... music editor
 
Transportation Department
Joseph Sullivan .... driver
 
Other crew
Daniel McCauley .... title designer
 

Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Runtime:
123 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White | Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Bonnie Bartlett's film debut. more
Quotes:
Pat Brady: Fleishacker, let me tell you something. After the revolution, you'll be the only safe one. You know why? Because they always need lawyers after a revolution to straighten out the legal end. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
28 out of 29 people found the following comment useful.
One of the Most Overlooked Films in History For Good and For Bad..., 24 June 1999
9/10
Author: Donald J. Lamb from Philadelphia, PA

What a mystery THE LAST TYCOON has been. This is a large-scale film with perhaps the greatest cast of male actors in history and nary a mention is made of it. Most critics bash it, the common viewer may dismiss it, but you cannot deny its place in history. It is not often you will find such a pool of talent AND a movie with both Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson on screen together. They even FIGHT! By the way, THE LAST TYCOON also happens to be an excellent, if flawed, work of art.

Director Elia Kazan (GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT, ON THE WATERFRONT) and company have taken F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel about the politics and personal conflicts of 1930's Hollywood and put forth an off-beat, unusual picture. Kazan is one of only three directors to successfully direct motion pictures between the 1940's on through the 1970's (the other 2 being Hitchcock and Huston). A staggeringly legendary cast play their parts effectively instead of just calling in their performances, which easily could have happened. Perhaps there was some competition between the old school actors and their methods (Mitchum, Milland, Andrews, Curtis, Pleasence to name a few) and the "method" actors like De Niro or Nicholson who symbolically take the torch in this film. This is especially true of De Niro's extraordinary lead as "Monroe Stahr" (based on Irving Thalberg). Kazan helped to create the "method" acting concept, so who better to direct such a crossroad of talent.

"Monroe Stahr" is a no nonsense "Studio Chief" who I'm sure Fitzgerald encountered while a hack writer in Hollywood during his final years. De Niro as "Stahr" orders cuts here and fires directors there and caters to what he thinks audiences want. He is actually a noble character, something Fitzgerald may not have meant to express. He must deal with Robert Mitchum and Ray Milland, who represent the corporate, artless side of the picture business and later the writer's wing (represented by Mr. Nicholson). As expected, there are many conflicts of interest but the movie's magic lies in the amazing contrast Kazan and company make between the dream world of an old black and white movie and what happened when the director yelled "CUT".

I love classic black and white films and one of the aspects that made them so great was the world you were thrust into. Fake backdrops, miniatures, and grand sets surrounded the actors in most of them, but the dream-like quality of a black and white film kept you involved. With this film, some curiously familiar "fictional" film clips are used for screening purposes where the studio executives would clap or claw at what was projected (They were filmed specifically for this film). Kazan and co. create scenes from supposed films (one was CASABLANCA turned inside out) to add some realism to it all. We get to see an actor from the movies-within-the-movie "on" and "off-screen". Tony Curtis has some good early scenes as a perfect screen presence, but an awfully inept star "off-screen" when he meets with De Niro to confess his sexual confusion in real life. You'll know what I mean if you see the flick for yourself.

LAST TYCOON is a love story more than anything. Many people may dismiss the love angle as a distraction. I found it slightly hypnotic and mysterious. The love interest, played by a beautiful actress named Ingrid Boulting, is great at exuding an elusive quality, something the De Niro character can't put his finger on. It all leads up to a somewhat vague climax and ending, but perhaps the filmmakers were unable to come up with the final stamp Fitzgerald failed to accomplish himself.

This is a film for discerning and patient film-goers only. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. That is why I see movies. Why the film has been so looked over is bizarre. Even if you consider it a complete flop, it deserves recognition, if only for the great cast. If you like classic films and know a thing or two about film history, you may know why THE LAST TYCOON is so captivating.

RATING: 8 1/2 of 10

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The ending (might contain spoilers) cil_b
a very underrated film karl-bourseguin
This movie is weak swinginparis
De Niro and Nicholson--Only Film Together? chuckfrench
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